Startups and the Press: A-TAK Experience

That’s why, on December 11th, the API Moscow accelerator hosted a meeting with Evgenia Kolobukhova, General Director of A-TAK, the first communications agency in Russia to offer PR services specifically designed for startups and IT companies.

When the agency’s founder, Ksenia Chabanenko, left to work as PR Director of the Mail.ru Group, Evgenia took her place as head of the company.

Their clients have received write-ups in publications including “Vedomosti”, “Kommersant”, “Trade Secret”, and Forbes, and have also attracted attention from federal television channels and radio stations. Their clients have included the Addventure Fund, Softline, AlterGeo, Ostrovok, and Groupon Russia. The agency has also gotten involved in the promotion and coverage of major tech conferences (TechCrunch Moscow, DEMO Europe, and the Russian Internet Forum) and events aimed at fledgling tech teams (namely, the GreenfieldProject’s ‘working weekends’).

Over the course of this seminar, Evgenia had the opportunity to share her experiences in the field of e-commerce, mobile, and other projects, and to discuss:

the structure and style of press releases: how they are created, by whom, and for what audiences, as well as when, how, and to whom they should be sent,

how to predict whether or not journalists will think that what you have to say is newsworthy, whether or not it’s enough to be published,

other materials you need to have at your disposal when dealing with the press,

and how to evaluate the effectiveness of your PR.

API Moscow was the first IT startup accelerator to be launched by the Moscow Program for Technology Incubation. API Moscow’s mission is to facilitate the development of innovative companies and venture capital funds, as well as educational and service-oriented organizations that support growing IT companies in Moscow. API Moscow will house the portfolio companies of its accredited program partners (Russian and international investors, incubators, etc.). API Moscow will provide its resident startups with educational materials: seminars and courses on various aspects of technological entrepreneurship.

API Moscow was established by the Moscow Center for Innovative Development with the support of the Moscow Department of Science, Industrial Policy, and Entrepreneurship. The site is run by Digital October, a center for new technologies and technological entrepreneurship.